SERICRAFT

“We work together as friends. We do what we love.This is our world. It’s us who have created it.”

Photo by Elisabetta Riccio - elisabettariccio.it

A main door at 53, via Magenta, Turin, gives access to a courtyard where a grapevine has grown to shelter a table and some chairs invite people to stop and wonder what happens in there, in that little handcraft silk-screen print studio set up and provided for by 4 young men that are not afraid of working. They are fond of printing and art. Without any previous know-how, they have started their business and learnt how to manage it day by day. They seem to come from another dimension, a reality that existed in the past of this Italy that is sinking in a crisis, this Italy that seems to have forgotten the big effort made by past generations to create a new state of affluence. They do not work with banks, they prefer to grow less and more slowly than run into debts. They love to gather at Christmas dinner and ask each other “who do we owe money to?” The answer is “to nobody, as we prefer not to owe money to anybody than to earn more of it” they tell me with a smile.A small workshop that is gradually making its way. “Many local businesses are realizing that maybe they’d better spend a few cents more and work locally. You can see the workshop, the machine that will produce your tote bag or your t-shirt. As they enter the shop, many people are fascinated by the handicraft’s quality, by the atmosphere. It’s not a marketing choice, but for the customer it’s like seeing something first-hand.” Far from being an industrial silk-screen print studio, they make everything, from individual t-shirts to tote bags for publishers and merchandising for artists and musicians. “We are always the same that relate to everybody else.” They do everything. For any kind of customer. For any business, be it local or not. They have always believed that “big problems arise when you depend on somebody else.” They guarantee for their work. It is harder. The working time is longer. But they enjoy the satisfaction and tranquillity of doing what they have promised. A business that proceeds in small steps, because they learn something new every day. “Where do you want to go? That’s the big question” they tell me. “Who takes advantage and of what? We work together as friends, with no stress. We do what we love. This is our world. We have created it. If it goes wrong it’s our fault. If all goes well, it’s thanks to us.” They use any means of communication: skype mail facebook whatsapp sms... everything except for the fax, that now belongs to the past. “We have all kinds of customers and each customer has its own channel. Open-mindedness is crucial in this historical period. The most difficult thing is that unfortunately you don’t get any help from the state. Money gets in and out and sometimes you don’t even clearly understand where it has gone.”SERICRAFT is also www.missiontoart.com: a project of international artist residency where handicraft meets art. In collaboration with the English blog Streetartnews, Missiontoart offers international artists the opportunity to interact with silk-screen print to produce their artistic projects and limited editions.Out of the context of local institutions, with which it is very complicated to realize a project, they prefer to collaborate with foreign businesses, managing projects at their own expenses. They don’t earn money, but they like it. “We like to discuss. To learn. To grow” they say quietly. “It’s a long term investment, but a great satisfaction in terms of experience.”Thanks to SERICRAFT and their MISSIONTOART in collaboration with STREETARTNEWS we have the possibility to show you – within this and the upcoming ILLUSTRATI issues – the work of international street artists starting from Alexis Diaz, from Puerto Rico.